[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Collegeville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 2-3-1993 by Ord.
No. 399 (Part 10, Ch. 1, Art. C, of the 1985 Code
of Ordinances)]
B.
Whereas, it is the purpose of said legislation to deter the commission
of arson and related crimes, to discourage the abandonment of property,
and to prevent urban blight and deterioration; and
C.
Whereas, the Borough of Collegeville desires to adopt an ordinance
pursuant to Section 508 of the Insurance Company Law of 1921 to provide
for the payment of proceeds from certain fire loss claims to the municipality.
The Borough Secretary or such official's designee is hereby
appointed as the designated officer who is authorized to carry out
all responsibilities and duties stated herein.
A.
No insurance company, association or exchange (hereinafter the "insuring
agent") doing business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall pay
a claim of a named insured for fire damage to a structure located
within the Borough of Collegeville (hereinafter the "municipality")
where the amount recoverable for the fire loss to the structure under
all policies exceeds $5,000, unless the named insured or insuring
agent is furnished by the Municipal Treasurer with a municipal certificate
pursuant to Section 508(B) of Act 98 of 1992[1] and unless there is compliance with Section 508(C) and
(D) of Act 98 of 1992[2] and the provisions of this article.
B.
Where pursuant to Section 508(D)(1)(I) of Act 98 of 1992, the Municipal
Treasurer issues a certificate indicating that there are no delinquent
taxes, assessments, penalties or user charges against real property,
the insuring agent shall pay the claim of the named insured; provided,
however, that if the loss is agreed upon by the named insured and
the insuring agent equals or exceeds 60% of the aggregate limits of
liability on all fire policies covering the building restructure,
the following procedures must be followed:
(1)
The insuring agent shall transfer from the insurance proceeds to
the designated officer of the municipality in the aggregate of $1,000
for each $20,000 of a claim and for each fraction of that amount of
a claim, this section to be applied such that if the claim is $20,000
or less, the amount transferred to the municipality shall be $1,000;
or
(2)
If, at the time of a proof of loss agreed to between the named insured
and the insuring agent, the named insured has submitted a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, the insuring agency shall transfer to
the municipality from the insurance proceeds the amount specified
in the estimate.
(3)
The transfer of proceeds shall be on a prorate basis by all companies,
associations or exchanges insuring the building or other structure.
(4)
After the transfer, the named insured may submit a contractor's
signed estimate of the costs of removing, repairing or securing the
building or other structure, and the designated officer shall return
the amount of the funds transferred to the municipality in excess
of the estimate of the named insured, if the municipality has not
commenced to remove, repair or secure the building or other structure.
(5)
Upon receipt of proceeds under this section, the municipality shall
do the following:
(a)
The designated officer shall place the proceeds in the separate
fund to be used solely as security against the total costs of removing,
repairing, or securing the building or structure which are incurred
by the municipality. Such costs shall include, without limitation,
any engineering, legal or administrative costs incurred by the municipality
in connection with such removal, repair or securing of the building
or any proceedings related thereto; and
(b)
It is the obligation of the insuring agent when transferring
the proceeds to provide the municipality with the name and address
of the named insured. Upon receipt of the transferred funds and the
names and address of the named insured, the designated officer shall
contact the named insured, certify that the proceeds have been received
by the municipality and notify the insured that the procedures under
this subsection shall be followed; and
(c)
When repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure
have been completed in accordance with all applicable regulations
and orders of the municipality and the required proof of such completion
received by the designated officer, and if the municipality has not
incurred any costs for repairs, removal or securing, the fund shall
be returned to the named insured. If the municipality has incurred
costs for repairs, removal or securing of the building or other structure,
the cost shall be paid from the fund and if excess funds remain, the
municipality shall transfer the remaining funds to the named insured;
and
(d)
To the extent that interest is earned on proceeds held by the
municipality pursuant to this section, and not returned to the named
insured, such interest shall belong to the municipality. To the extent
that proceeds are returned to the named insured, interest earned on
such proceeds shall be distributed to the named insured at the time
that the proceeds are returned.
(6)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of
the municipality to recover any deficiency. Furthermore, nothing in
this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the municipality and
the named insured from entering into an agreement that permits the
transfer of funds to the named insured of some other reasonable disposition
of the damaged property has been negotiated.
The Borough may by resolution adopt procedures and regulations
to implement Act 98 of 1992 and this article and may by resolution
fix reasonable fees to be charged for municipal activities of certificates
and bills, performance of inspections and opening separate fund accounts.
Any owner of property, any named insured or any insuring agent
who violates this article shall be subject to a penalty of up to $1,000
per violation.
The provisions of this article shall be severable and, if any
of the provisions hereof shall be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining
provisions shall remain in effect.
[Adopted 12-7-2005 by Ord. No. 517 (Part 10, Ch. 1, Art. D, of the 1985
Code of Ordinances)]
This article shall be known as the "Collegeville Borough Emergency
Service Cost Reimbursement Ordinance."
A.
Authority. Under Section 1202 of the Borough Code, 53 P.S. § 46202,[1] and the Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response
Act, 35 P.S. § 6022.101 et seq., the Borough has the authority
to make rules and regulations for the government of fire companies
located within the Borough.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 8 Pa.C.S.A. § 1202.
B.
Findings. The Borough recognizes that the duties of volunteer fire
companies require specialized emergency rescue tools and equipment,
and hazardous abatement materials during emergency responses. The
Borough recognizes that such tools and equipment place a financial
burden on volunteer fire companies, and the replacement of such materials
and specialized training add to the additional financial burden for
volunteer fire companies.
C.
Purpose. The purpose of this article is to grant the fire company
operating in Collegeville Borough the authority to seek reimbursement
for the reasonable cost of responding to such incidents, either directly
or in coordination with the Borough's Office of Emergency Management,
as provided below.
A.
The Borough authorizes the Fire Department to recover the reasonable
cost of emergency rescue tools, equipment, and materials; hazardous
material abatement tools, equipment, and materials; and incurred third-party
expenses involving any hazardous material, environmental, fire safety,
and/or rescue incident or operation, including vehicular accidents.
B.
The reasonable costs outlined above may be recovered directly by
the Fire Department or through a third-party billing service as an
authorized agent for the collection of such costs.
C.
The Fire Department or third-party billing service shall only have
the authority to recover the aforementioned costs from the applicable
insurance company/carrier, or in the case of a self-insured corporate/partnership
entity, from the corporation or partnership.
D.
The reimbursement rates for the aforementioned tools, equipment,
and materials shall be set by the Fire Department from time to time.
These rates shall be approved by Collegeville Borough Council and
shall be kept on file in the Borough Building.
E.
In addition to the aforementioned reasonable costs, the Fire Department
or third-party billing service shall be authorized to collect reasonable
interest, as well as a reasonable administrative fee for collecting
the same, and any and all additional fees as may be authorized by
the Hazardous Material and Emergency Planning and Response Act[1] or authorized by any other statute or law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6022.101 et seq.
The Borough shall not be responsible for any aspect of the recovery
of costs under this article. The Borough shall not take any steps
to assist the Fire Department or any third-party billing service in
recovery of costs under this article.
Any attempt by a Fire Department or third-party billing service
to recover costs from any individual/entity other than the appropriate
insurance company/carrier shall result in the immediate revocation
of the authority to recover such costs granted under this article.
